Happy Easter to those who are of the Christian religion. To those who are not, I hope you have good luck finding places that are open today. Today’s article is meant as a cautionary tale for those who may happen to celebrate this day by giving tips of what may or may not be good ideas for games to play with you children on this day of spending time with family.
Flaming Easter Egg Toss
Normally Easter is celebrated with the traditional Easter egg hunt. In this tradition, plastic eggs are hidden throughout either a house, a yard, or a garden. The eggs are usually filled with either money or candy, with one magic egg (the ‘Golden Egg’) filled with the most presents, be it a five dollar bill or enough jelly beans to make your teeth rot.
However, since the economy is still rather rough, some people may not have money for the plastic eggs or the goodies that go into them. Hence the idea of the flaming Easter egg toss. The idea is quite simple: take a normal egg that you buy from the grocery store, douse it in lighter fluid and, with your child or family member standing about 10 feet away (with some sort of protective gear on), light the egg with a lighter and toss it at them.
The object of the game is two-fold: first, to catch the flaming egg without suffering any major injuries. Second, as the lighter of the egg, your object is to run away as fast as you can from your family member who may be just a little bit ticked off that you threw a flaming egg of death at their head.
Attempting to do your own resurrection
True, Christmas is a time when one kid around the world gets presents, so everyone else does. Logically then, if one guy raises from the dead, everyone else should too . . . right?
Family Resurrection Time would fit in as a perfect theme game on Easter. Get the kids, the family dog, and your parents and all head down to the local cemetery. Pick a grave of your favorite dead family member (or someone who may still owe you money), dig up their coffin, and see if the voodoo ritual from “Weekend at Bernie’s II” really works.
You may want to have a family member hiding in the bushes in zombie make-up for when the resurrection doesn’t work. You don’t want to disappoint your children, after all, if Aunt Martha doesn’t come dancing out of her coffin.
Baby rabbit ring toss
Easter is all about the Easter Bunny bringing eggs and hiding them across the land. While this may be fun for the kids, I think Mr. Bunny’s talents are not being used to their full potential. I mean, after all, Santa goes all across the world, sliding down chimneys, dropping off presents, eating a cookie, taking a sip of milk, and moving on to the next house. So, why can’t the Easter Bunny do a bit more?
To get the ball rolling on putting the Easter Bunny to work, you may want to play a round of baby rabbit ring toss. The idea is simple: set up three styrofoam rings at random lengths away from the starting line. Then, take your favorite baby bunny rabbit, and try to get him or her through one of the rings.
I know, I know, I know . . . this may seem like a horrible idea to some people . . . throwing bunnies through rings. But don’t worry . . . I’m not that heartless. You don’t set the rings on fire. That would just be inhumane. And the game is played outside, so there is plenty of grass to cushion the little fellow if he or she happens to be flung really far.
Of course, if that doesn’t float your boat, you could play the game the more humane way: buy a bunch of baby rabbits, set them loose, and try to land styrofoam rings on them as they run away. Setting the rings on fire are optional.
What does this have to do with getting the Easter Bunny more involved in the spirit of the holiday? Well, if you saw people throughout the world flinging styrofoam rings at rabbits, wouldn’t you want to do something to distract them with something else? Like hide Easter eggs for the kids and six packs of beer for the adults? So Mr. Easter Bunny, be warned.
